If there is one name that has gained special significance for FC Barcelona this season, it has been Iñigo Martínez. The Ondarroa native experienced a true turnaround in what was shaping up to be his fate as a Culé. Why? The defender started the 2024/25 summer transfer window as a virtually dispensable asset due to the overcrowding of defenders in the Blaugrana squad and the fact that he was not registered as a player for Barça in LaLiga EA Sports. Additionally, being the most veteran also gave him more and more options to leave the Barcelona team.
However, in a complete turn of events, Iñigo Martínez ended up being registered in LaLiga EA Sports, taking advantage of the long-term absence due to the physical setback of Ronald Araújo (injury to the tendon of the right thigh's hamstring), becoming a stellar name in Hansi Flick's sporting project. He is the left-footed defender who provides the voice of experience from the back and offers stellar defensive security, establishing himself as one of the best center-backs in the Spanish competition.
So crucial is Iñigo Martínez's participation at FC Barcelona that, to date, he has accumulated 621 minutes of action out of a possible 630, only surpassed by Raphinha and Jules Koundé, who have played every minute under the direction of the German coach. Given this situation, and despite there still being a good stretch left before the end of the 2024/25 season, a significant question arises: If the Basque continues with this stellar level, will Barça seek to retain him for the upcoming campaign?
The condition for Iñigo Martínez to activate an automatic renewal clause with FC Barcelona
It is a sensible question, as the Culé defender is under contract with the club until June 30, 2025, when he will be 34 years old. Now, it seems that the answer to this question could be affirmative for the Ondarrés, at least as suggested by 'SPORT', where they mention an automatic renewal clause for Iñigo Martínez if he meets a fundamental condition this season, which he seems to be on track to fulfill.
Specifically, the defender must participate in at least 60% of the matches played by FC Barcelona this season. Also, he must play at least a total of 45 minutes in these games. So far, he has consistently met this projection, as in the seven matches that Barça has played this season, Iñigo Martínez has played the full 90 minutes in six of them and only rested for about seven minutes in the last match against Villarreal (1-5).
Estimating that the Blaugrana team may play an estimated 53 matches in the 2024/25 season, the renewal of Iñigo Martínez could automatically be triggered if he participates in a minimum of 31-32 matches. It will be interesting to see if the defender reaches this figure, as although he has had a very good performance so far, it will be necessary to see if he maintains it when players like Andreas Christensen or Ronald Araujo return, whose comebacks are expected by the end of the year, opening up a competition to see who will be chosen to strengthen FC Barcelona's defense.